1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system cooling fans, and more particularly to an information handling system low profile pluggable cooling fan and connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
During normal operations, information handling systems generate heat as a byproduct of using electrical power. The primary source of heat is the central processing units (CPUs), however the many other components within an information handling system housing also generate heat, such as memory, chipsets, hard disk drives, etc. . . . Unless excess heat is removed from within the housing of the information handling system, components will fail as internal temperatures rise above operating constraints. In order to remove excess heat, information handling systems typically include one or more cooling fans that generate a cooling airflow through the housing.
Information handling systems sometimes share a housing or chassis. For example, often server information handling systems are aggregated into a large chassis or rack that shares power, cooling and communication resources. Rack enclosures often use standardized sizes, such as increments of a “rack unit” or “U”, which measures the height allocated to an enclosure area within a rack that supports an information handling system. Larger server information handling systems can have a height of two or more U within a rack to contain physical components.
In order to ensure reliable operations of information handling systems within a rack, a typical rack will include multiple power and cooling resources for redundancy. Redundant power and cooling resources maintain information handling systems in an operational state in the event of a failure of a power or cooling resource, although operations on redundant resources during a failure may only have a degraded level.
Server information handling systems often support critical enterprise functions so that enterprises expect the ability for a rapid recovery from a degraded state of operations. One example of this is the hot-pluggable cooling fan, which allows a replacement cooling fan to plug into a motherboard socket while the information handling system is operating. The plug for the cooling fan is disposed on the bottom surface of the cooling fan and aligned to couple with the motherboard socket when the cooling fan is in place. In the event of a cooling fan failure, an end user pulls the entire cooling fan upwards from the motherboard and pushes a new cooling fan in its place to couple to the socket.
One difficulty with hot-pluggable cooling fans is that a 2U or greater height is typically needed for a server information handling system to accept a cooling fan with a plug disposed on the bottom surface that couples to a motherboard. In some instances, server information handling systems have a 1U height that does not offer adequate vertical space to place a plug on the motherboard. In typical 1U server information handling systems, cooling fans have a loose set of wires with a connector that an end user plugs into the motherboard behind the cooling fan location before the cooling fan is coupled in place. The loose wires sometimes cause confusion among end users since hot-pluggable fans typically expose a plug without exposing wires to indicate that the fan is hot-pluggable. In some instances, cooling fans for 1U servers include an arm that holds the plug in a position behind the fan body aligned with a motherboard socket so that the plug fits into the socket as the fan is put into place; however, exposed wires leading to the arm and into the socket can lead to confusion regarding whether the cooling fan is hot swappable or cold swappable.